Wildfire Prevention Day in Merritt

MERRITT – With no shortage of fun activities, Merritt Fire and Rescue held Wildfire Prevention Day.

Hundreds of people gathered in Central Park on Saturday to visit vendors, test their strength in a fire truck pull, and learn more about wildfire prevention.

Even though the day was filled with lots of fun and laughter the main emphasis was on the safety and learning.

“I think that the thing that shocks people is that when they imagine the fire coming into town they imagine it as a wall of flames and what they are learning is that its really the embers coming far in advance of the fire that are landing in places all around our homes,” said  Krista Minar, Emergency Management Coordinator for Merritt Fire and Rescue. “It’s in our leaf piles, in our wood stacks up against our homes, in our bark mulch, and so what they are learning is that there is little things we can do to actually eliminate or reduce that risk all together.”

The night was capped off with a movie in the park.